Wai's has always been my go to place for supplies equipment and livestock.
Daniel has been in business a very long time for a reason - he has a business model that can weather both the good and bad times. Prices can be expensive, but that's what it takes to stay in business. If not Wai's, do you really want to buy from someone that is here today, gone tomorrow?

I went to Big Al's a couple of weeks ago and they had very little sw livestock but a LOT of artificial salt available. People probably are a little burned from last year's salt "special sale" debacle.

I've never been to Concepts new place, can't offer a opinion.

Pisces is a great overall pet store. I get all my fw and pond supplies there.

Golds I've been to once, but they had a very limited sw offering.

Riverfront needs to be shut down.

I haven't been to any of the others mentioned.

Online stores for Calgarians are available, but it costs me $50 in fuel to drive to the airport for livestock, so that is a deterrent.
BRS is very expensive when you include shipping to the local post office (in my case)
.

Also, no one in Calgary has been able to offer the high quality of corals that Wai's has.
I've seen great pictures from some online vendors, and have read some favourable reviews, but have not ordered to see for myself.:wink:

Thanks for all the input guys! I'll for sure have to check out all these places when I'm ready for livestock! There's several listed that I didn't even know existed.

Pisces,Big Al's,Golds have all been open for a long time, I don't think that should be the main criteria for doing business there. Wai's was selling a 3" maxima for $300, cross the street go to Ocean Creations got a 5" with nicer pattern for $180. Regal tangs for $80 At Wai's, Golds $30. And even alot of wai's dry goods and equipment are over priced. Daniel can be very picky who he likes and who he doesn't like, it seems to me it's based on who's gonna spend the most money

You may not be aware of the Big Al's franchise history in Calgary then.:wink:

Reef stores are not cheap to operate.
Like I said, Daniel has a good business model. If you are looking for inexpensive coral frags for example, it would be best to buy from other hobbyists. (there's nothing wrong with that, btw, I support other hobbyists when I can)

Highly agree with somafish. Been into Wai's countless times, bought a few things here and there, and never once had a warm reception. On the other hand, you cross the street to Ocean creations and you greeted with a big smile and great service. Oceans may not have the coral selection that Wai's has but I would prefer to spend my money in a shop that treats me as a valued customer and not just a walking wad of cash!

Businesses can charge what the market will bear for their products.

If a new business wants to compete, it has to be able to provide a more attractive alternative, be it price or product.
So far, I have not seen anyone do that in the Calgary market. Wai's is the one to beat.

I could buy more volume if I went somewhere else, but I would hate to see Calgary lose the high quality products that Wai's offers.
I don't argue with the price, so I'm an easy customer to deal with, versus someone that complains about the price and tries to buy items for less.
Less profit = harder to do business = possibly going out of business entirely.

When I was in business, startups wold come into my market and offer cheap similar products at low prices. It hurt my sales. I know what it is like. Less than a year later, the startup was gone and out of business, because they weren't making enough money. Meanwhile, my sales suffered, I had to let people go, reduce my inventories and it took a while to build back up again. Soon another startup would try again and the cycle continued.

I wish good luck to all businesses, but I'm not a fan of shopping for cheap prices alone.

Does big als have a large selection on AGA aquariums?

I have never liked wais I have been out of the scene for a while just got Back in Aug 2015. I prefer friendlier places Dennis at golds and the guys at concepts since being back in the hobby I have avoided wais had bad experience there 10+ years ago

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I think only Pisces carries AGA stuff. They have a little side room with soils,tanks, and co2 stuff